


Bitter Is The Man Forged In Ice

by TheWeaponIAmToday



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers, Gen, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 16:30:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1476409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeaponIAmToday/pseuds/TheWeaponIAmToday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a Winter Soldier on the loose - and Steve Rogers, with the help of his friends, is determined to find him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bitter Is The Man Forged In Ice

**Author's Note:**

> First chapters are my greatest weakness, so power to you if you can get through this... I can't promise regular updates, if they're even wanted - but I do try my best. Anyway, this is set right after the (second) after credit scene. Onwards we go!

 The room is still busy when she enters, the last visitors glancing around absentmindedly or watching the television screens with only half their attention.  _People never get tired of Captain America,_  she thinks, smiling as she wonders what Steve's opinion of the museum is.

 She opts to start at the screen closest to her. There's a lot of information to take in, even if she knows most of it already. But she's not here to gather knowledge on Steve - she's here to find out more about his best friend (Steve insists that 'former' be kept out of that title). She hopes that if she's informed enough, Steve might let her come with him on the search. Since SHIELD fell to pieces, she's had nothing worthwhile to do, and she doesn't want to sit around while her friends are on important missions; even if they were much higher up in the organisation than she was.

 After much deliberation, she decided to come to the museum before looking for information on the Internet. She reckoned that this was a more reliable source. So far, what she's taken in seems good enough. Though she relies more on what she's taken in from the screens; seeing this Bucky is a much better judgement of his character than reading the paragraphs on the walls. Once she's watched the loop of video on the screen a few times round to see what little of him there is, she turns around and catches sight of a section dedicated solely to him. Sighing, she begins to walk over, wondering why she didn't go straight there to begin with.

 She bumps into someone who is walking away from the exhibit, and supposes she should have been watching where she was going rather than looking at the picture of Bucky. She looks up from it immediately as whoever it is she's walked into grunts out a swift apology, and finds herself looking at a face that's far too familiar. She gasps quietly and his eyes widen.

"You're -" Her sentence is cut off by his hand grasping her forearm tightly.  _Under arrest_ , she had meant to finish it with, even though she doesn't have the authority.

" _No_ ," Bucky says firmly, his expression hard. "I'm not him. Not - not anymore."

 He tightens his grip on her arm when she tries to remove it, and her eyes scan the room frantically as she tries to determine whether or not she can try to take him down with her admittedly limited skills. Seemingly, he is doing the same, because when she returns her eyes to his they're flitting from person to person before they reach hers again. She sees something unexpected in them now - fear.

 Before she can process this thought, Bucky has begun to hurry out of the room, dragging her with him by the arm. He kicks open a door, keeping his free hand wedged into his pocket, and pulls them inside, kicking it closed again behind him. A flickering bulb lights the room, which is a small, dusty closet. She opens her mouth to speak, but a cold, hard hand closes around her throat and she's pushed to the wall. She doesn't need to look down to know that this is the hand he kept in his pocket; the metal arm she's been told about.

"Who are you?" he demands.

"M-my name is Leila." She somehow manages to get the words out through her terror, and she tries her best to concentrate on her breathing to stay calm.  _In, out, in, out_...

"Who are you?" he repeats. His grip tightens ever so slightly, and Leila pulls in a ragged breath.

"I told you," she says, her fear now leaking into her voice. "Please - please don't hurt me." Bucky's expression becomes unreadable and his hand falls from her throat, but he still stands his ground in front of her. She exhales in relief.

"Don't make this difficult. I don't care what your name is, I want to know who you are," he says, his voice softer than before, but by no means gentle.

"No-one important," Leila replies. She can see from his face that he's not satisfied with her answer, but he doesn't ask again. Instead, Bucky leans closer and looks straight into her eyes.

"Nobody hears about this," he hisses.

"Understood," she says quietly.

"I mean it," he says more firmly. "Nobody can know. Not a single soul. I can't - " He cuts himself off, grimacing. Leila spends a second debating whether or not she should question him on what he was going to say, and her temptation wins.

"Can't what?" she asks, tentatively. Bucky's mask of confidence slips to reveal a troubled expression.

"I can't... have anyone know I still exist. Whoever I am. I can't be found. I - I have to hide, but I have nowhere to run to, and no-one can help me and - " He stops abruptly, closing his eyes. He exhales deeply to calm himself, and Leila can feel his breath against her lips as he has not yet pulled back from his previously threatening position. As he opens his eyes, he looks helpless - an almost unbelievable change from the man he was moments before.

"I don't know what to do," he admits. "I don't even know who I am anymore." He looks at Leila with desperate eyes and she feels a wave of sympathy wash over her. Before she can think better of it, she reaches out to take his non-metal hand. Bucky recoils from the touch, now giving them both space to breathe.

"I'm sorry," Leila says immediately.

"No, I'm sorry. Bad habit, I guess. People don't normally have good intentions," Bucky says darkly, staring at the ground.

"I think you should leave," he whispers after a moment. "Just - not a word. Not to anyone." He looks up at Leila, and she nods solemnly before slipping past him to reach the door.

"Whatever you're looking for," she says, and he turns his head slightly to face her once more, "I hope you find it." She leaves quietly, shutting the door behind her.

 Alone, Bucky Barnes crumbles to the floor, his face buried in his hands.


End file.
